Housing in Southern Africa February 2015

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News
DTI solar-geyser rules
The solar geyser manufacturing
industr y has claimed that
the Department of Trade and
Industry’s (DTI) local content
rules for solar geysers are too
stringent and have resulted
in 4 500 jobs being lost in the
industry.
According to Democratic Al-
liance Shadow Minister for
Trade and Industry, Geordin
Hill-Lewis, this is a serious matter
since the local content programme is
designed to encourage South African
manufacturing and create jobs.
Hill-Lewis says, “These claims
must be investigated to determine
if the DTI’s local content rules are
harming local industry. The industry
has argued that restrictive and irra-
tional government procurement rules
have resulted in an impasse between
industry and government, as supply
has become nearly impossible due to
the stringent local content threshold.
A recent survey by the Sustainable En-
ergy Society of South Africa (SESSA)
has estimated that least 4 500 jobs
have been lost.”
In July 2013, the Department of
Trade and Industry classified low
pressure solar water geysers as a ‘des-
ignated product’ under government
procurement rules, which in effect
requires that each component of the
geyser consist of 70% local content.
The industry says that this local
content prescription is too high, and
that in fact it essentially disquali-
fies all South African manufacturing
companies from producing and pro-
viding geysers for government’smass
installation programme. With gov-
ernment’s installation target of one
million solar geysers installed in low
cost housing by March 2015, these
subsequent delays, job losses and
local content issues are unresolved.
“In light of the energy crisis we are
currently facing, and the ability of this
programme to significantly reduce
the pressure on the national grid, any
hindrancesmust be swiftly addressed
and resolved,” says Hill-Lewis. ■